The recent announcement that excess weight was accountable for just 26,000 deaths each year stands in stark contrast to the bloated 400,000 deaths statistic produced by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) last year and has left many demanding answers as to why the agency made such grave errors in its calculations.
The 15-fold decrease in the number of deaths places obesity at number seven on America's preventable death rankings -- behind septicemia and nephritis. Despite the new findings, CDC director Julie Gerberding refuses to change course on the agency's earlier estimate bankrupt.